Trend alert: house plants

Rurban Chic (rural and urban) – a mixture of plants and containers in a rustic/industrial interior

The English love for indoor plants caught on in Victorian times, when the fashion for indoor plants meant conservatories became popular as places to take tea and grow the delicate and rare plants, popular at the time.

Growing up in the 70’s, no stylish house was without a house plants in every room. Ferns, Spider and Cheese and Rubber plants were the pot plants of choice and I carted my beloved Yucca to my various student houses and flats, to make them feel more like home.

House plants gradually became more and more unpopular and eventually became the reserve of the unstylish office environment – although personally, I have always had a few dotted around the house, for old times sake.

But now it seems house plants are back and the most stylish interiors are once again featuring rubber plants and hanging baskets!

Japanese inspired – Kokedama

Kokedama (Japanese hanging plants) are the hottest new “thing” plant wise and remove the need for any container at all. A lovely way of incorporating some nature into your home, plants are moulded into a ball of soil, which is then wrapped it with moss or other organic matter – take a look at the below video, if you fancy giving it a go.

2 Comments

Oh no! I cannot stand house plants – weird I know to feel so strongly about something so innocuous! They somehow always manage to look a bit dead and dusty and false! I do, however, love cut flowers in the house and this year I have cleared a bed that I used to grow veg (badly) and making it into a cutting flower garden. Have bought loads of seeds from Sarah Raven so let’s wait and see how that goes!

I’m shocked – “Kokedama (Japanese hanging plants) are the hottest new “thing” “, because WOW that is some beautiful looking interior design. I’m not 100% sure they will take off in the average home and watering looks fiddly though. But, still, wow.

Houseplants make a home in my opinion, they brighten corners and soften hard looking rooms.